


Under the Water (We Can't Be Together)

by phoenixwwitch



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Alternate Universe - The Little Mermaid Fusion, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, M/M, Mentions of Drowning, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, Swearing, The little mermaid - Freeform, WARNINGS:, Warnings May Change, Willex AU, dating juke, just wait I have some surprises, mermaid willie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-13 04:53:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29147757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phoenixwwitch/pseuds/phoenixwwitch
Summary: Willie had never really understood this fear that other mermaids associated with humans, which only alienated him from the others even further as a child. He believed that humans were inherently good as he believed most living things were, his growing collection of human trinkets only strengthening his curiosity. But what happens when a human is literally thrown into his lap?Alexander hates the ocean and definitely isn't swayed easily by fairy tales about mermaids, at least that's what he wants everyone to believe. What are you supposed to do when you think a supposed merman saves your life?
Relationships: Alex Mercer & Julie Molina & Luke Patterson & Reggie Peters, Alex Mercer/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Bobby | Trevor Wilson & Alex Mercer & Luke Patterson & Reggie Peters, Flynn & Julie Molina, Julie Molina/Luke Patterson
Comments: 6
Kudos: 35





	Under the Water (We Can't Be Together)

**Author's Note:**

> This is my take on The Little Mermaid which is one of my favorite disney movies ever. Hope you enjoy it!
> 
> Warnings for this chapter:  
> swearing, slight emotional abuse, mentions of drowning

For years, families shared stories of mysterious and elusive creatures that ruled the rough seas. Passed down for generations as fairy tales told to children for a sense of adventure and mystery of the unknown world. They were supposed to be just stories, now they had become cautionary tales of warning, meant to scare children. These creatures had become monsters that stole families,never to be seen again…

Willie had never really understood this fear that other mermaids associated with humans, which only alienated him from the others even further as a child. He knew his constant questions seemed dangerous and distressing but after he lost his parents, he stopped asking. He didn’t know what happened to them but everyone else seemed to assume that humans were responsible. Ever since then he's been more wary of humans and their intentions, but it never did stop him from watching them.

Now, there weren’t very many mermaids left, at least in this part of the sea. They just disappeared and no one knew why or where they went. The only ones left were lifeless and solemn, never saying a word until asked to. They almost looked like ghosts when the light dove into the vacant waters.

***

It started out like a normal day, Willie had been in his hidden trove of human objects; well it wasn’t really a _trove_ , more of a collection of trinkets he had found. He didn’t know what most of the objects were or what they were used for, so he made up stories for them. He liked to use this three-pronged metallic utensil as a hairbrush, it wasn’t a very good hairbrush though.

He decided to go up to the shore to see if he could find any more weird collectibles, but instead he heard people talking. He quietly drifted along the shoreline to get closer to the voices, he propped himself up on a smallish rock. He caught a glance of dark, curly hair and bursts of purple. He was too scared to get a good look, not wanting anyone to see him. He had been told that mermaids had become precious obscurities for humans, that's why there were so few of them left. He prayed to Poseidon everyday to keep him safe, knowing that was taking huge risks just to have a glance at life above the sea.

Willie knew he could get caught someday, but these secret adventures fueled him with too much adrenaline for him to care very much. What can he say? He thought humans were weird and breathtaking. 

As he moved along the shore, he looked up to find an old castle. His attention snapped back and he heard laughter and singing. Willie thought it was funny how humans danced on their tip toes and twirled around in their fancy fabrics…

_What were they called?_ _Oh, right ball gowns._

He heard footsteps coming closer to his hiding spot and he panicked, sinking back into the water and sighing. He floated down to the bottom of the sea, his dark hair pooling around his shoulders as his tail curled beneath him. He knew he could never live like the people up there, but it never stopped him from dreaming. 

Ever since he’d heard the legend of a mermaid falling in love with a human, and a prince for that matter, he wanted to believe he could have that too. He liked to watch people live their normal days: he fell in love with their smiles, their dancing, their _freedom_.

In all honesty he had been trying to find the legendary kingdom of Atlantica, so far he’d had no luck. His “father,” Caleb, had always told him that it no longer existed because the king had gone missing, leaving his kingdom to ruin. Willie had his doubts about the so-called truth of Atlantica and its ruler, King Triton. After all, Caleb was powerful, a sea witch, or well sorcerer as he preferred. 

“Hey! Whaddya know, thought we’d find you here kid. Caleb’s been looking for you,” Willie quickly shot up from the floor, crossing his arms over his chest to find Dante and Fuego, Caleb’s henchmen.

Shit.

“Uhh hey! I was just uh looking for more urchins. I know Caleb said he needed more,” Willie rubbed the back of neck and kept his gaze on the seafloor. He heard them snickering, “Well, I don’t see any.”

“Any what?” Willie furrowed his brows, moving his gaze to their prideful glares.

“Urchins,” Fuego smirked, his sickening yellow eyes making Willie’s skin crawl. He opened his mouth to come up with some excuse, but instead sighed in defeat. They waved him over and he followed them back home, where Caleb would be waiting. 

They swam in silence, Willie tugging at the key on his necklace. The key was supposed to open the box that held his contract that bound him to work for Caleb. It was given to him as a sign of trust and warning, he didn’t want to know what would happen if he broke that trust.

As they swam, schools of fish hurried past them, glistening in their light refracted scales. Willie’s mind drifted, he daydreamed of dancing, swirling along with the fish and their vivid colors. His hair twisting and billowing around his face, his cheeks hurt from smiling. He opened his eyes and everything was quiet, the sea used to be loud and boisterous, now it just felt empty.

***

There in the distance, a ship was coming towards the shore and Alexander couldn’t be happier. He had been seasick this whole trip and his father wouldn’t hear his whining any longer so he sent him to the upper deck. His father was a fisherman and wanted to get Alexander involved in the business. Which apparently meant riding the rough seas and catching the damn fish himself, which not only left Alex feeling sick but he was terrified of drowning.

He didn’t always used to be, as a child he loved the ocean, him and his friends met at the shoreline. His parents could almost never get him out of the water, until one day when he was 8 years old. He and his best friend, Luke, had been playing in the waves when the tide rushed in. A storm was coming in, but the two boys refused to let it stop them. Everything was fine until Alex lost his footing in the sand and slipped under the crashing waves, pulling him further under. He tried screaming and swimming out of it, but the ocean’s hold was too strong. All he remembers after that is darkness, him being pulled out by his father and watching Luke curl up into his mother’s arms, crying. After that, he despised the ocean, masking his fear with pure hatred.

As they came upon the shoreline, Alex let out a huge sigh of relief. They were still a ways off but he felt comforted in seeing land. His eyes remained on the horizon to keep him steady but even that was starting to make him nauseous. He looked down at the rough waves, wondering what horrors could be down there. It was dark and the stars reflected off the glittering waters, he saw it. 

It looked like a long fish tail, but it was bright **orange**.

He leaned forward over the side of the ship, scanning the water. His hand slipped off the railing and he lost his balance. He gasped as felt the cold breeze of the ocean on his cheeks, trying to grasp onto something. He hit the water and the memories came flooding back, he tried swimming upward toward the ship, his breathing becoming ragged as his lungs filled with water. He tried to scream even though he knew no one could hear him, numbness consuming him and everything went black. 

Willie was swimming under the ship, when he heard muted screams. Looking around frantically for the source of the bloodcurdling sound, he swam towards the ocean floor. There he saw _him,_ stiff as coral on the sandy floor, a human. He looked around and found that Dante and Fuego were far enough ahead not to notice. He swam towards the man, approaching him with slight fear and excitement. He wasted no time, pulling the man close to his chest, one arm under his knees and the other holding up his head.

He quickly swam back to the shore, but kept his gaze on the _man_ in his arms. He couldn’t believe it, an actual human man and _wow, he was_ **_beautiful._ **

Willie laid him on his back on the sandy beach, stretching his tail and laying close beside him. He didn’t know what to do exactly, hesitantly putting a hand on his chest. Willie shifted to lean over him, tucking his golden hair behind his ears. The man suddenly gagged and spit out the salty water, breathing heavily. Willie noticed the man was trembling and he wasn’t sure if it was out of fear or the coldness of the ocean. He stretched out a hand towards the man, causing Alex to glance at Willie. His eyes were red and frantic, Alex couldn’t tell if he was crying or if it was the salt water burning his eyes.

Before Alex could focus, Willie was gone, but he knew he saw someone with long dark hair and they were so **_pretty._ ** He scrambled to his feet, looking around for this mystery person,

“Hey wait! Where’d you go?”

Willie knew better but his lapse in judgment got the better of him, he popped his head out of the water and locked eyes with his human. Willie froze and Alex slowly blinked and shifted to sit on his knees,

“Are you okay? I just- I uh thank you for saving me.” Alex held out his hand. Willie only nodded and disappeared beneath the waves. Alex looked down into the water but Willie was already gone, “I-what, okay..”

In his state of confusion, Alex only had one clear and LOUD thought, “ _he was so pretty, so beautiful.”_ And once again everything went blurry, his legs felt like he was walking on pins and needles. They gave out beneath him and he blacked out. 

***

Willie had his tail wrapped around his body as he tried to regulate his breathing, small bubbles floated out of his mouth as he hiccuped. He couldn’t stop thinking about the angelic man that was just in his arms and against his chest. This human, _his_ human. So why was he freaking out so much? 

“William! I know you’re out there, don’t make this worse for yourself,” Willie’s body tensed and his throat seized up. 

_Oh_. That’s why.

“C-Coming sir, I uh I’m sorry for being late,” Willie cleared his throat, trying not to show any fear. He held his hands behind his back and swam over to Caleb’s voice. Willie sighed and looked up at Caleb’s weirdly calm smile,

“I hope you weren’t people watching again, William. You know how much I hate when people disrespect me.”

“I wasn’t watching the humans, I uh just got distracted that’s all. I’m so sorry sir,” Willie gulped and held his breath. Caleb sighed, forcing Willie closer with his suffocating tentacles that wrapped around his tail. Caleb titled Willie’s head up with his thumb,

“You also know I don’t like it when you _lie_ to me.”

Willie only nodded, terrified of what Caleb was going to do to him, but nothing happened. Caleb only laughed, throwing his whole body back. He let go of Willie only to grip his wrist with intense force causing Willie to groan in pain,

“I’ll forgive you. However, tomorrow you will actually be going to search for urchins not your little trinkets. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes sir.”

***

Alex awoke in his small bedroom to find two of his friends, Reggie and Bobby quietly arguing in the corner. He sat up slowly, his head pounding as he leaned on his elbows and groaned,

“Guys? What happened?”

“Alex! Holy shit, are you okay, man? How are you feeling? Didn’t know spending two weeks at sea would make you want to swim with the fishies!!” Reggie snorted, but concern was laced in his gaze. Alex rolled his eyes at his friend, flopping back down on the bed. 

“Shut up, Reg. I just lost my balance, I hate the ocean,” he stopped and sighed- “I’m fine, Reg. I just thought- I, nevermind.” He thought his fear was maybe getting better after being on his father’s ship for so long. Now he guessed his fear was further proven, but he couldn’t stop thinking of the man he saw- that saved his life. 

“Alex?” He was brought back to reality by Bobby shoving his shoulder lightly, eyebrows furrowed. Reggie stood by the door wearing his nicest suit, as was Bobby. Alex sat up again, “What? Sorry, it’s been a rough 24 hours.”

“As long as you’re okay, man. But you gotta hurry up, remember we were invited to Luke’s for dinner,” Bobby squeezed his shoulder and Alex nodded.

“You make it sound so casual, you do remember he’s a prince right?” Reggie quirked an eyebrow as he messed with the collar on his suit. Alex laughed loudly causing the other to join in, “Yeah he may be a prince, but as long as we’ve known him, he’s still a dumbass.”

“He’s Julie’s dumbass now,” Reggie smiled. They were all incredibly fond of Julie. They don’t know where he found her, but they were glad they found each other. Luke had always been a sweetheart, but Julie made his smile brighter and his laugh louder. Unfortunately to his father’s dismay, she also encouraged him to follow his dream of being anything else but a prince.

Luke was supposed to be learning how to take over for his father, he was supposed to be acting like a prince or more-so a king. He was too stubborn for that though, disappointing his parents severely. Alex remembered spending days with Luke, too depressed to get out of bed while Alex and Reggie tried everything to cheer him up. Until Julie came into his life, with her he could do anything, he felt free. 

That’s what Alex wanted more than anything in the world, freedom. Free to be whoever he wanted which definitely wasn’t being a fisherman. He wanted to own a farm, far away from here. He would miss his friends immensely, but his fear triumphed over his good memories of the ocean and he needed to get away.

Now, after what’s happened in the last 12 hours, he couldn’t stop thinking about the mystery man in the sea. His silky dark hair that cling to his skin, the silver chain that glimmered around his neck, and his big, soft eyes. From the fleeting moments of seeing his face, he looked sad tinged with slight fear. 

Alex started thinking his freedom lied in this beautiful man, the excitement that surrounded him. But his daydream came to an abrupt end when his thoughts got the better of him. He _didn’t_ know who this man was or if he was dangerous or not. 

_What if he wanted to hurt him, why else would he have been in the ocean?_

_Why would he have saved his life?_

_A mermaid? No they’re just myths.. right?_

He didn’t want his friends to think he was losing it or burden them with his dumb questions. He did know who would listen to his weird questions with fondness- **Julie**. Now he was on a mission, trying to get his golden retriever best friend away from the love of his life long enough to ask her if she thought mermaids were real. 

That was totally realistic and plausible, yeah. _Totally._

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> come yell at me on Tumblr (sk8rwillie) and tell me what you think!


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